World Matchplay (snooker)

The World Matchplay tournament was established in the 1950s as an alternative to the Billiards Association and Control Council / World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association professional snooker world championship by some of the professional players following a dispute with the governing body. Following a decline in the popularity of snooker the event was discontinued after 1957.

A one off event was staged in 1976, this time sanctioned by the WPBSA. Held in Melbourne, the uninformed media had the public believing Eddie Charlton had won the World Professional Championship after he beat Ray Reardon 31-24 in the final.

In 1988 Barry Hearn resurrected the event as an invitational tournament for the top 12 players, and it ran for five years. The 1988 event was the first snooker tournament to offer a top prize of £100,000. It was sponsored by Everest in 1988 and 1989, and Coalite from 1990-1992. It was televised by ITV as a replacement for the World Doubles